Death in Paradise fans have been loving the new series, but Thursday night's episode left several taking to Twitter to complain that the show has cast an able-sighted actress Frances Tomelty as a blind character. With many suggesting that the show should have cast an actor with impaired vision, one fan wrote: "To everyone @BBC #drama involved with #deathinparadise last night. Hiring a sighted actor to play a visually impaired role. In 2020 with all the drive for diversity? Epic fail & no excuse. So many superb VI actors pit there." Another added: "Appalling, just no need for it. So many steps forward with #SilentWitness then this. Just not good enough."
Fans opened up about the episode
A third person tweeted: "Real shame that @deathinparadise hasn't cast a blind actress to play their blind actress character. Very disappointed." Frances previously opened up about the role, and confirmed that she did research to get into character. She explained: "I did things with my eyes closed. Swimming, showering, dressing. Ella, our lovely producer, arranged a meeting with a young woman named Rilanna who went blind aged twelve and who is full of light. She showed me how to navigate unfamiliar spaces. To listen and smell and intuit where people stood and to read their differing energies. She remembered colours. She had pink hair and asked if I liked her shorts. 'Blue like the sky!' she said."
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Thursday night's episode also confirmed that the new officer, Neville Parker (Ralf Little) would be sticking around on the island as their new DI after the island slowly grew on him. He tells his new team: "I'm fed up of living life the way I have to, instead of the way I want to. What I'm saying is I'd love to be your DI permanently, if you'll have me." Ralf previously opened up to HELLO! about his character's allergies, saying: "[The writers] had a top line idea then we sort of developed how to execute the idea - Ben's character was very clear in that he hated being there, and just wanted to go home. He hated the island. They wanted to return to some kind of conflict, they tried to flip it on its head so that Neville would have been happy to be there, but the island hated him rather than him hating the island."
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